My Cooking Routine: The Four Meals I Get From One Roast Chicken

Ahhhh. I love that feeling of having just roasted a chicken and knowing that three more meals in my family's very near future are already planned and nearly prepared. You see, every time I roast a chicken (which is often this time of year, nearly once a week), a sequence of tasty meals unfolds, almost on autopilot. Here's how it goes:

These are the four meals I routinely get out of one roast chicken for my family of three (more like two and a half with me, my husband, and a toddler at the table):

Meal 1: Roast chicken. This is the meal the first night the bird is roasted. I do a basic roast on a bed of seasonal veggies. We eat the legs and wings along with all of the roasted veggies for the first meal. After dinner, I remove the rest of the meat from the bones and store it in the 'fridge. I cook stock with the bones and neck and the rest of the giblets are sautéed and refrigerated for Meal 4.

Meal 2: Chicken, cabbage, and coconut milk stir fry. This is random, but I love it. I take the breast meat and chop it up. Sauté and onion and half a head of cabbage in sesame oil. Do this over high heat, so the veggies are browned (or even blackened) in places. Add salt, the chicken, and coconut milk and serve over rice with a squeeze of lemon. Of course, Meal 2 could be any chicken stir fry you enjoy.

Meal 4:Pate sandwiches. Remember those giblets in the refrigerator? Make pate and use it as a sandwich spread. A little strong mustard and crunchy leaf of lettuce alongside make for a delicious (and nutritious) lunch that even my two year old loves.

That's my routine for four easy meals from one bird (plus several cups of chicken stock to boot). Do you get several meals from one roast chicken? What's your favorite way to do so?